The Montoya Herald, a weblog about Blueprint, jQuery, design, music and life, publishing on the web since September 2005. Written by Christian Montoya: developer, designer and entrepreneur.

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Why I use Virb

Posted on April 15, 2007.

I've been using Virb for weeks now and I'm hooked. On the surface, however, it isn't obvious why Virb is useful or fun. It looks like just another social network and to be honest, it doesn't do anything revolutionary other than allow a much better platform for profile customization than anything that came before it. When people say it's "Myspace done right," that's because it does everything Myspace did, just much better. The user base is growing with two kinds of people: designers who are thirsty for another canvas to put their art on, and music-lovers who are fed up with Myspace and are looking for a new music-oriented network. Do I think that Virb will be successful? Definitely. The user base, as well as the artist base, is growing everyday. I wouldn't say that it will overtake Myspace, but there are a small number of users who are leaving Myspace entirely.

As for me, here is why I use Virb, in three simple steps:

  1. First, I can go to this page and browse through all the artists and bands on Virb:
    virb-browse-music
    I'm always on the lookout for more music in my genres of interest, and it's great to have a network full of artists that is easy to search.
  2. When I visit an artist, I get their music player right at the top:
    virb-air-player
    Some songs can be downloaded, but what I really care about is the "Add" button. I can add all the songs I like, and they end up…
  3. … here:
    virb-personal-player
    This is my personal player. I can launch it from my home section, and it has all the songs I've added while browsing artists on Virb. I can sort the songs and remove songs I'm tired of, and the top 3 songs show up on my own profile page. This player is really great for whenever I am at a computer, especially on a computer that isn't my own.

It's that simple: browse, add, listen. What makes Virb so great is not just the availability of this service, but the great looking design and usability that comes with it. Now, if you aren't interested in a network where you can find new music and connect with your favorite artists, then I really don't have a good reason for why you should join Virb, but if you are like me, then Virb is a very good idea.

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  1. Pingback: Even more reasons to use Virb « Lacking Value on April 16, 2007

3 Comments

  1. Jermayn Parker on April 15, 2007

    Thanks for that which I assume is a follow up from our discussion on a previous blog entry.

    I will add this to my previous question I raised on my blog

    Thanks for your post

  2. Daz on April 16, 2007

    I might get round to actually using Virb one day - I registered early and got the cool url of just "daz" (rather than the lengthly and difficult-to-remember "dazb" on other sites)

  3. Vincent on May 5, 2007

    The thing i like about Virb is that they focus on making new stuff before they make all the boring stuff. Like the blog importer that they just recently ported out.
    I also like the fact that your can really customise your profiles up, that's why i made VirbRocks.com

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